Miami Beach Planning Board Agenda: How to Read and Track It

The Miami Beach Planning Board agenda is posted on the city's PrimeGov meeting portal before each meeting. It lists every application the board will hear, in a fixed order, by file number and address. Once you know how that order works, you can tell in a minute which items will actually be decided and which are only being pushed to a later date. This guide explains how to read it, using the November 3, 2026 agenda as the example.

Where to find the agenda

Miami Beach publishes agendas for its land use boards (the Planning Board, Design Review Board and Historic Preservation Board) on PrimeGov. Each meeting has a short compiled agenda, a few pages long, that lists the items. The staff reports, plans and letters for each application are attached to the individual items.

The Planning Board meets at 9:00 a.m. on Tuesdays, usually once a month, in the Commission Chambers at City Hall, 1700 Convention Center Drive. Meetings are hybrid: you can attend in person or join the Zoom webinar listed at the top of the agenda. The November 3, 2026 agenda lists the next meeting after that as Tuesday, December 8, 2026.

Who sits on the board

The board has seven members, appointed by the City Commission. On the November 3, 2026 agenda they are Brian Elias (Chair), Melissa Beattie (Vice-Chair), Jonathan Freidin, Yechiel Ciment, Elizabeth K. Latone, Keith Marks and Scott Needleman. Planning Department staff present each item and make a recommendation, and the city attorney's office advises the board during the meeting.

Because there are seven members, a vote recorded as 7–0 means everyone present voted the same way. Split votes are where it gets interesting: at the September 8, 2026 meeting, a motion to shut down a 23rd Street nightclub for 83 days failed 4–3, and the board then voted 6–1 to continue the hearing to February 2027.

How the agenda is organized

Every Planning Board agenda follows the same order. Here is what each section means for you:

• Attendance, city attorney updates, and swearing in of the public. Many Planning Board items are quasi-judicial hearings, so people who plan to testify are sworn in.
• Approval of minutes from the previous meeting.
• Requests for continuances or withdrawals. This is the most important section to read first. Items listed here are usually moved to a future meeting without a full hearing. At the October 6, 2026 meeting, the board continued eight agenda items to November 3 this way, all unanimously.
• Progress reports. Check-ins the board required when it approved an earlier permit, often for venues with a history of noise or traffic concerns. The board can conclude the report or ask for another one.
• Modifications to previously approved projects. Changes to existing permits, such as a new operator for a restaurant.
• Previously continued applications and new applications. These are the full hearings: a staff presentation, the applicant's case, public comment and a vote.
• Proposed changes to the city's rules. The Planning Board only recommends these; the City Commission makes the final decision.
• Future meeting dates and adjournment.

The agenda itself also warns that any item may be continued, and that the city won't send new legal notice when that happens. If you are planning to attend for one item, call the Planning Department at (305) 673-7550 to check its status.

Reading file numbers

Each application has a file number like PB26-0849. "PB" means Planning Board, and the middle digits track the year the file was opened. When an item lists several numbers joined by "A.K.A.", as in PB26-0848 A.K.A. PB23-0606 A.K.A. PB20-0344, those are earlier files for the same property. That history is useful: it tells you the site has been before the board before, and you can look up what was decided then.

File numbers are also the most reliable thing to search for. Addresses get written several ways, but a file number stays the same from the first hearing to the last.

The November 3, 2026 agenda

The November 3 agenda has 14 items. Seven of them sit in the continuances and withdrawals section:

• Item summary.
• Alton Beach Bayfront Overlay temporary sales center (PB26-0826).
• Item summary.
• 2201 Collins Avenue, the Waldorf Astoria (PB26-0847). Staff recommends approving part of the venue reconfiguration and continuing the outdoor entertainment request to December 8 because of noise concerns for nearby residences. Item summary.
• 5757 Alton Road, zoning map and future land use map changes for a lot beside La Gorce Country Club (PB26-0859, PB26-0860). Item summary.

The rest are on track for a hearing:

• 1759 Purdy Avenue (progress report). Staff says the traffic and valet operations at the mixed-use building meet city standards and recommends concluding the report. Item summary.
• 309 23rd Street (modification). A new operator for the restaurant and lounge. Staff recommends approval with a progress report in February 2027, citing past noise complaints. Item summary.
• 1445 Washington Avenue, the Cameo (new application). A 987-person restaurant and lounge in the historic Cameo building, with a restaurant open until 4 a.m. and a lounge until 5 a.m. Staff recommends approval with conditions. Item summary.
• 834 1st Street (new application). A 398-seat restaurant with a 509-person capacity and a new outdoor patio. Staff recommends approval with conditions. Item summary.
• Helipads in the I-1 district (code amendment). It would allow helipads on Terminal Island properties zoned I-1, tied to the private marina, with flights limited to 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Staff recommends sending it to the City Commission favorably. Item summary.

You can see all of them on one page at the November 3 meeting preview, which will be updated with the outcomes and votes after the meeting.

What happens at a meeting

A typical meeting moves fast through the continuances, then slows down for the contested hearings. For each full hearing, staff summarize their report and recommendation, the applicant or their attorney presents, members of the public speak, and the board discusses and votes. The board often adds or changes conditions before voting, such as hours of operation, noise limits, or a progress report date.

Recent examples show the range. On October 6, 2026, the board unanimously recommended an ordinance letting historic hotels in the RM-2 district apply for rooftop restaurants that serve alcohol, and approved a paperwork-only owner change for the Good Time Hotel. On September 8, it voted 7–0 to recommend a 20-year concession agreement for Via Noli, a plan to turn Lincoln Lane North into a pedestrian retail and cafe alley. Every outcome from those meetings is on the Planning Board page.

How to speak or send comments

The agenda invites anyone to attend, to be represented by an agent, or to send their views in writing to the Planning Board, c/o the Planning Department, 1700 Convention Center Drive, 2nd Floor, Miami Beach, FL 33139. The application files are open for public inspection at the Planning Department during business hours, and the department answers questions at (305) 673-7550.

If you plan to speak, arrive before your item and expect to be sworn in. Keep your comments to the specific application: how it affects your street, your building or your block. Specific, local facts carry more weight than general opposition.

If you think you might appeal a decision later, note the warning printed on every agenda: under Section 286.0105, Florida Statutes, you need a verbatim record of the proceedings, including the testimony and evidence the appeal is based on.

How to track items without reading every agenda

The free way is to check PrimeGov before each meeting and search the agenda for your street or file number. That works if you follow one property and remember to look. The catch is that continued items move from month to month, and the decision itself is buried in hours of meeting video.

Dais does that reading for you. It covers the Miami Beach Planning Board, Design Review Board, Historic Preservation Board and City Commission, along with boards in Miami, Miami-Dade County and Coral Gables. You can set an alert for an address, a file number, a person or firm, or anything within a set distance of an address. You get an email when a matching item reaches an agenda, then a plain-English summary of the decision with the vote and a link to the exact minute in the meeting video.

Homeowners and condo boards can use the Neighbor plan, $19 a month for alerts on up to three addresses. Land-use professionals can try Professional free for 14 days, no card needed.

FAQ

When does the Miami Beach Planning Board meet?

Usually once a month on a Tuesday at 9:00 a.m., in the Commission Chambers at City Hall, with a Zoom option. The meeting after November 3, 2026 is scheduled for Tuesday, December 8, 2026.

Where is the Miami Beach Planning Board agenda posted?

On the city's PrimeGov portal at miamibeachfl.primegov.com, along with agendas for the city's other boards. Staff reports and plans are attached to each item.

Does the Planning Board make the final decision?

It depends on the item. The board hears and votes on applications such as conditional use permits.

What does a continuance mean?

The item is moved to a later meeting without a decision. Applicants often ask for one to finish revisions or community outreach, and staff sometimes ask for one when information is missing. Because the city doesn't send new notice for continued items, check the next agenda or call the Planning Department.

Can I watch the meeting?

Yes. You can join the Zoom webinar listed on the agenda or attend in person. The city also posts meeting video afterward, and Dais links each summary to the moment in the video where the item was heard.